More Disposable Income for Malaysians to Stimulate Our Economy – No Income Tax for 1 year

In the national effort to boost domestic demands, consumers must have the ability to spend. The propensity to spend is derived from the income of individuals. In layman’s terms, we need CASH, MONEY, RINGGIT MALAYSIA, in our own hands to spend.

In June 2008 when the Government raised prices at the pump, it immediately caused a spike in inflation and everything a consumer was buying, be it food or otherwise, started to rise.

Even now when the pump prices have been dramatically reduced below the June 2008 prices, the prices for food and other things have not returned back to their original at all. In fact, they stayed firm.

In this shortsightedness and a blind stroke of a pen, all Malaysian consumers suddenly had less disposable income. Mind you, the income tax remained the same, the amount of money left to spend can buy far less things because the prices have all gone up and stayed up.

Again, in layman’s terms, we now have the same money but buying far less things with it. In short, we have less MONEY.

Now that the Government believes that to shore up the economy there needs to be a high consumer spending, where in the world will we get more money? There has been little to no pay increase over the past few years while things that we buy kept going up.

In order to enable the consumers to have more disposable income to spend, it is not about giving money to the people like ang pows during the recent Kuala Trengganu by-election. Problems will arise as to who to give, how much to give, when to give, will it arrive at the hands of the people, how to check loop holes, etc. More headaches arise than solving an important problem.

As such, it will be great if the Government grants a one year moratorium on income tax. Malaysia had benefited much from this when Mahathir did it in the crisis of the late 90s. Why not now? It worked like a dream then, why not now?

It is by far the easiest to implement, most equitable since the money is earned by the individuals and not getting a windfall by not working for it, and we will still have to pay income tax the year after. But during this crucial time, Malaysians will have more money to spend to prop up the economy.

We call on all Malaysians to support this move. The Government will not need to worry about possibility of corruption or which company assisting will get a hefty commission. It is giving back to the people what belongs to them for a period of a year to help in the economic recovery plans.

Let’s do it now! This is apolitical and a people-centric move that will put money in the right people’s hands that will be a major contributor to the overall economic rescue plan!